Jay Ratliff to miss first padded practice

Calvin Watkins covers the Houston Rockets and the NBA for ESPN.com. He joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009. He's covered the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers as well as colleges, boxing and high school sports.

OXNARD, Calif. -- Nose tackle Jay Ratliff, who has been dealing with plantar fasciitis since spring workouts, won't be participating when the Cowboys suit up in pads for the first time Wednesday afternoon.

Ratliff is getting some snaps during walkthrough practices, but the Cowboys don't want to put any stress on his foot.

"We'll continue to be cautious with him," coach Jason Garrett said. "He's getting good work in the morning in the walkthrough and we'll see how he's doing. He's making progress. There's been no setbacks. We want to make sure that's the case as we get into training camp here."

With Ratliff out, Josh Brent and Robert Callaway have been getting first-team snaps at nose tackle.